Can.



W. BARRY.

GAN.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 1, 1911.

Patented Apr. 23, 1912.

.mr mw M?. .MQ W. W my .3

wirbt/mman WILLIAM PAR/RY, OF WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

CAN.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application led September 1, 1911.

Patented Apr. 23, 1912.

Serial No. 647,253.

To all whom 1' t may concern:

Be it known that I, VViLLIAM PARRY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Vashington, in the District of Columbia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Cans; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to cans, more especially to means for removing the covers from cans.

In ordinary devices of this character now in general use, especially in that type comprising a single lever pivoted upon the can cover and bearing with one end against the bead of the can body, it is necessary to hold the can body in one hand while utilizing the other hand in operating the lever on account of the lateral or twisting movementv imparted in opposite directions to both the can and its cover.

A primary object of the present invention is to provide a pair of crossed levers pivotally connected to the can cover at their intersection, so that the resultant force, when the operator presses the lever grips together by the thumb and forefinger of one hand, is exerted in a vertical direction and the cover positively raised vertically from the can. Thus the necessity for holding the can body stationary in one hand or upon a support of any kind is obviated.

A further disadvantage found in can opening means as now constructed, is that the cans themselves are not air tight and thus deterioration of the contents is promoted.

A second object of the present invention, therefore, is to provide a novel means for attaching the crossed levers to the can cover so that no orifices of any kind will exist in the can to permit access of air to the contents, and thus the air-tight feature of the can is maintained at all times.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an extremely simple and durable cover removing device that will not easily get out of order, may be applied to ordinary cans without alteration of the cans, and will be inexpensive to manufacture.

With the above objects in view the invention consists in the novel details of construction and combinations of parts hereinafter fully described and claimed, it being levers when actuated.

Referring now to the drawings in which like characters of reference designate similar part-s in the various views, 10 designates the cover, and 11 the body of an ordinary can or box, the body being formed with the usual Vbead 12 against which the edge of the cover abuts when closed.

The cover opening device comprising the subject matter of this invention consists of a pair of crossed levers 13 formed of stift material, these levers being mounted upon the exterior of the cover and being pivotally connected to the cover through the instrumentality of a rivet 111 which will be hereinafter more fully described. -The levers are equipped at their upper ends with iattened oppositely bent portions 15 which perform the function of linger rests or grips against which the tip of the forefinger and thumb of one hand may be brought to bear as shown in Fig. 1 to force the grips toward each other upon the operator closing his thumb and forefnger together. The working ends of the levers normally bear against the bead 12 of the can body, while the grips lie flat along the can cover top, this position of the grips facilitating the packing of the cans in vertical rows as will be understood. Upon movement of the levers to operative position as above described, the working ends of the levers will exert a downward pressure against the bead 12 of the can body and serve to pry the cover vertically off from the body.

By now referring to Fig. 3 it will be seen that by completing the parallelogram of forces as shown at 17, the resultant force as designated by the line 18 will be in a vertical direction. Since this is the case, there will be no tendency for either the can cover or can body to shift laterally relatively to each other as is the case with similar devices which employ but one lever. Thus it is not necessary to hold the can body stationary' by the hand or upon a support of any kind, while operating the levers, and furthermore the removal of the can cover is facilitated without soiling or injuring the operators hands.k

In order that the can will be air-tight after application of the opening device, I form the rivet 14 with a uniformly reduced neck 19 which snugly fits in the opening 20 formed in the can cover, the rivet being headed up as shown at 21 within the can cover, so that the neck completely fills the opening, and the cover is tightly clamped between the head 21 and shoulder 22 of the rivet and thus no orifices of any kind exist to permit access of air to the contents of the can. The body 23 of the rivet is of such size as to loosely tit within the registering openings 2a formed in the levers for the reception of the rivet, so that the levers work easily and freely upon the rivet.

From the above description it will be seen that I have, provided an extremelysimple and durable device which will effectively remove the can cover with minimum manual exertion, will not impair the air-tight qualities of the can, and will not necessitate soiling the operators hands in the removal of the cover'.

lVhat is claimed is,

1. The combination with a can including interfitting members one of which is equipped with a projection, of a pair of crossed levers pivotally mounted at their crossing on the other of said members and adapted to exert a pressure against said projection whereby to separate said members from each other. V

2. ril`he combination with a box comprising interfitting members one of which is equipped with a projection, of a pair of crossed levers pivotally connected at their crossing to the other of said members, said levers being adapted to bear with tlreir working ends against said projection and being equipped remote from said working ends with grips, said levers exertingja pressure against said projection upon movement of said grips toward each other whereby to separate said members.

3. rEhe combination with a can including interlitting members one of which is equipped with a projection, of crossed levers mounted exteriorly of the other memberand being adapted to bear with their working ends against said projection, a single rivet passed through the crossing of said levers and having a reduced neck snugly litt-ing in an orifice in said member, said levers terminating remote from their working ends in grips, said Working ends' being adapted to exert a pressure upon said projection during movement of said grips toward each other whereby to separate said members.

In testimony whereof, I affix my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

ILLIAM PARRY. lWitnesses r MARTIN MCINERNY, J. S. I/VILsoN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for :ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. C. 

